Edinburgh Festival Theatre

The Edinburgh Festival Theatre (formerly Empire Palace Theatre) is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, Scotland used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, large-scale musical events, and touring groups. After its most recent renovation in 1994, it seats 1,915. It is one of the major venues of the annual summer Edinburgh International Festival and is the Edinburgh venue for the Scottish Opera and the Scottish Ballet.

The present theatre’s location is Edinburgh’s longest continuous theatre site, for there has been a theatre in that location since 1830. From being Dunedin Hall, the Royal Amphitheatre, Alhambra Music Hall, the Queen’s Theatre, Pablo Fanque's Amphitheatre, and Newsome’s Circus, the site became the Empire Palace Theatre, the first of the famous Moss Empires’ chain, opening on 7 November 1892. Designed by the great British theatre architect, Frank Matcham, (who built the London Coliseum, among others) its décor was lavish, with elephants with Nubian riders, nymphs and cherubs in abundance on the plasterwork, and it seated 3000 people on four levels.

Edinburgh Festival

The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and culturalfestivals that take place each summer, mostly in August, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Though the festivals are put on by various organizations unrelated to each other, and so are officially separate events, they are regarded by many visitors as part of the same event; and together they form the largest annual cultural festival in the world. The Edinburgh Festival is member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.

History

The Edinburgh International Festival was established in 1947 in a post-war effort to "provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit". That same year, eight theatrical companies "gatecrashed" the official Festival by organising their own event, outside the official auspices of the EIF; this started the movement which grew into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe, or (incorrectly) the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Livingston (basketball)

Livingston was a professional basketball team based in Livingston, Scotland, founded in 1977 as Edinburgh by steel magnate David Murray and backed by sponsorship from his company Murray International Metals. Using the name Murray International or MIM Livingston, they went on to be one of the most successful clubs in Scottish basketball, playing first in Edinburgh and then later moving to Livingston.

During the height of its success, Livingston were crowned as Scottish National League Champions seven times between 1979 and 1987. The club were founder members of the British Basketball League, a professional league established in 1987 by leading clubs from England and Scotland. Playing out of the newly built 3,000-seat Forum Arena, Livingston were incredibly successful in their inaugural season and following an 81–72 victory over regular season Champions Portsmouth, were crowned winners of the first Carlsberg League Championship Final. The following year, Murray had acquired Rangers F.C. football team and sought about expanding his new acquisition and forming a 'sporting club' by purchasing Carlsberg League rivals Kingston for £100,000 and moving them to Glasgow. The Glasgow Rangers basketball team made their first appearance alongside Livingston in the 1988–89 season, becoming the league's second Scottish representatives. Under the guidance of Coach Kevin Cadle, Rangers dominated the campaign and claimed an impressive trophy haul, pipping Livingston to the regular season title and then beating them in the Final of the Championship Play-offs, winning 89–86. Livingston also finished as Runners-up in the NatWest League Trophy, losing 89–81 to Bracknell in the Final.